University of Manchester spin-out Molymem has doubled its funding to accelerate the creation of to greener and cheaper water filtration solutions.
Molymem which spun out of The University of Manchester in December 2022 with SEED equity of £500,000 led by Cambridge Angels has doubled its funding runway to over £1m with a further new investment from Green Angel Syndicate and Manchester based GC Angels.
Molymem has a mission to enable cleaner water for the world’s growing demand and has developed an energy-efficient and highly versatile membrane coating to support this. This breakthrough technology promises to be both greener and cheaper. The company will be using the extra investment to help accelerate its business development plans, scale the technology platform and build out the team.
The technology comes from research and patented technology led by Prof. Rob Dryfe and Dr. Mark Bissett, at The University of Manchester, working in partnership with innovation experts at the University’s Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC). The SEED funding to date of £1m has all been via angel investors with the initial round in December 2022 lead by Cambridge Angels and the follow on headed by the Green Angel Syndicate.
Ray Gibbs, Chairman and Director at Molymem, said “This additional funding will enable the company to quickly scale operations and deliver on its mission. The Angel investor confidence in the core team, the technology and the market need for our solution is a powerful endorsement for the Molymem business.”
Dr. Mark Bissett, Chief Scientific Officer and Co-founder Molymem Limited, & Reader in Nanomaterials, Dept. of Materials (University of Manchester) said “This additional funding will allow us to accelerate our R&D program and expand to other 2D materials also covered in our patented technology, while also increasing the speed of our scale up of the technology.”
Richard Lydon, a leading filtration expert and senior advisor to Molymem during its funding cycle will become the company’s new CEO. He said: “This is great news for an emerging innovation in the membrane space and the company is already started to engage with OEMs and end users. Climate change is driving the need for new solutions in membrane technology and Molymem goal is to work with the existing supply chains to bring a retrofittable membrane coating solution to market. More resilient, longer life and anti-fouling membranes will be required to maintain and improve water quality, reduce pollution, address Net Zero and build solutions for the developing world.”
Marc Shirman, Head of Investment at GC Angels said: “The lack of pre-revenue investors in the UK remains a challenge for our early-stage ecosystem. GC’s investment in Molymem’s innovative nano-technology illustrates our commitment to pre-seed investment. Molymem’s particle filtration membrane product has the potential to solve the global problem of access to clean water for the disadvantaged parts of the world.”
“GC were able to follow management’s journey at the GEIC leading to the commencement of commercialisation of their intellectual property. As lead investor, GC co-invested with Green Angel Syndicate combining to deliver both investment capital and industry focused business support to enable the management team to rollout of this innovative product internationally.”
Paul Anson, a member of Cambridge Angels and recently joined as NED of Molymem said, “We are delighted to be involved as the lead initiator for funding of Molymem. We like the business model and commercial approach taken by what is ostensibly a University Spin-Out. This first tie up makes a strong strategic link between Manchester and Cambridge to enhance co-investment between different funding groups and the hope of more to come.”
